Of Bombs and Foreign Policy

Unfortunate result of being behind in my postings (I blame the lack of a reliable computer or internet access) is that I have to interrupt the timeline of events sometimes to the point that I’m unsure of the proper sequence anymore. Be that as it may, I need to break consistency here to make a few comments about some events that happened over the weekend of August 31st and a brief recount of some related topics in Sri Lanka.

Now, every since I came to Sri Lanka on the 13th of August I have been impressed by the efficiency of the people and in particular the military. Security guards no longer consist of overweight and extremely bored looking individuals scattered at seemingly random intervals, the army is a persistent presence along the main roads leading into Colombo and the check points are in key junctions well manned with serious (and well armed) troops. As well the terrorist group that called the LTTE has been under increasing pressure from Government troops and last week the Sri Lankan armed forces began major pushes into LTTE territory, capturing key administration junctions and training camps for the terrorist group. All this comes at the end of stretch of government victories over the LTTE as well as relative calm in the major cities with no explosions for about 3 months in Colombo – for citizens here that is considered quite a feat.

Unfortunately all that ended last Saturday when a bomb went off in the Pettah district of Colombo… an area I was in only about ½ an hour after the blast. Oddly enough I had no clue about what happened, it was raining heavily that day and many of the street stalls in the area were closed – I assumed it was because of the rain. Whether the rain washed away evidence of the blast or people have become extremely efficient at clearing areas of wounded and debris is unknown, it just highlights the one troublesome fact of living in Sri Lanka. Not knowing if you’re next bus trip or shopping excursion will be your last. [The above photo I took unawares of what happened earlier, just thought the rain was cool]

While I still don’t worry about traveling around the country (whether it is bravado or stupidity is debatable), I can’t help but notice how close I was to being in the middle of the blast. In fact I was only delayed from shopping in the Pettah district because my Aunt designated me to take a few photographs of her Teachers Union meeting. The blast itself was relatively tame by previous incidents, 45 people were injured including 2 children and only 2 people in serious condition. The fact that the bomb was considered ‘tame’ by local standards says something about the kind of terror people used to face every day. Now I don’t relish the idea of being caught in a bus explosion or having my legs blown off while shopping for knick knacks, but I don’t see the point in hiding at home or avoiding using the most reliable local transport. It seems that people here have learnt that giving into fear is how terrorists control people, and if you don’t give in to that fear then… the terrorists have no power over you. Of course this is probably the opposite of the attitude in the states where even the remotest town lives in fear of ‘terrorists’ after 9/11. I’m not making light of the tragedy of that day or the sacrifice people made, but living in constant fear does no justice to anyone, and actually allowed the US government to make the world a place were terrorism can flourish. Take a look at the current US embroilment in Iraq and how because of their commitment they cannot afford resources to other matters, such as in Georgia.
Here I have to say a bit about the perception people have about the western world in Sri Lanka. There is a certain amount of chagrin as Western powers call for human rights inquiries and election watchdogs when not too long ago the world saw picture from Guantaunamo bay and the voting irregularities in Florida from the 2000 presidential elections. In particular the United States, Britain and for some reason Norway have all take a bit of interest in Sri Lanka in ‘concern’ for welfare of the people. However the countries have absolutely no moral high ground to make any judgments are any attempts to do so are met with sarcasm. There’s a saying in Sri Lanka that the only difference between the corruption here and the corruption in the west is that they have institutionalized corruption to the highest powers of government in the west… made it more efficient if you will.
I mention this because I can guarantee you – as the LTTE seem to be approaching an inevitable end, Western countries will be clamoring for ‘peace’ and use human rights as an excuse for cessation of military operations. I’m curious as to where these people were when the US invaded Iraq… hmm, that’s a bit too easy. Though the fact is, western countries do not want strong and stable governments to exist for the reason that they are much harder to exploit. While countries do give ‘aid’ these are in reality devious sorts of loans that generally involve using the money to import goods from the donating nation, while preventing the building of infrastructure that would actually improve conditions.
I’ve gone on a bit of a ranty tangent here, but it is a topic that as I learn more about the more disgusted I become. Not that I haven’t known some of this before, but it’s only once you get close enough to actually smell the shit that you have to hold your nose.